Customer Reviews

Beautiful Joe

5 star:		(48)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

This book profoundly affected me as a child. As many youngsters are passionate about animals, this book teaches everyday values as told through the eyes of a dog. In a world where respect for human life is not always apparent, this book appeals to the humane spirit in all. By teaching kids to first love and respect animals, they can become better individuals. I turned off the t.v. last summer, and read this book to my 11 and 8 year old children. They loved it!

I read Beautiful Joe as a child of maybe 10, over 40 years ago. Can you remember all the books you read in grade school, junior high, high school? If you are like me, probably not. I was not even an avid reader, but sometimes enjoyed going to the library near my grandma's house on those occasions when I spent the night there, to pick out a book or two. One of those times I picked up Beautiful Joe. I have never forgotten it. A few years ago I began to search for it in bookstores--never to be found and the library version is always checked out. How can a book make such a lasting impression upon a person? Thank you Amazon for carrying it.

OK, seriously... this book leaves such an impact on every child I have seen that has read it. It teaches amazing compassion. It teaches the golden rule doesn't apply just to humans. It begs for people to be the best that they can. It is the basis for the credo of the humane society. It makes you think twice when you see a stray, heck, it makes you think when you look at a rat. There is no reason for a child not to be read this story, in fact several adults I know could benefit from it also. And read the sequel too... Beautiful Joe's Paradise (when the are all in heaven and all damaged/hurt creatures are restored! Even Barnum's elephant, Jumbo gets his tusks back...) Happy reading and get some Kleenex, if you cried in Black Beauty... you'll need it for this, too!

Trying to raise a humane child? If so, you want this book. I didn't realize until I was an adult that Beautiful Joe is essentially a humane education "tract"--a series of quasi-essays on various types of animal abuse held together by the plot line of Miss Laura's attempts to stop animal cruelty. I was surprised by the realization, because I had understood Beautiful Joe as Literature with a capital L--the real stuff, the good stuff. And I'd argue that it is. Much like Black Beauty, it both fulfills and transcends its original object of educating and agitating in the service of animal rights. Each one of its characters and incidents has remained stamped in my mind and heart since I first read it as a child in the 70's. In fact, Beautiful Joe changed my life: today I rescue, rehabilitate, and find good homes for abandoned, neglected, and abused dogs. Every tear that I have shed over these dogs has its source in that first burst of childish grief for poor old Joe. He's a good dog--and he can count me among his good works.

I too read, " Beautiful Joe" years ago when I was in elementary school. I was unable to put the book down then and was unable to put it down now. I searched many years in order to find a copy of the book. I have my original from my younger days, but decided to keep it in the original condition. "Beautiful Joe " was and is a book to teach us all to be kind to all living creatures. I am sure I will read the book again and know it will be read by many of my colleagues in the school in which I teach. Thank you, Marshall Saunders, for writing a terrific book.

This is a book that I picked up at my grandmother's house when I was probably ten or eleven years old. I can remember what the original looked like, just as I can picture other books that I found in her house, many of them dating from my mother's childhood. This one was special, and I was so glad to be able to find that it has now been reprinted. It is a story of a dog that is told from the dog's point of view. It is an old-fashioned story that will teach your child about kindness to animals, and to others. I bought two extra copies for friends, and reread the book myself. Check some of the other Amazon customer reviews of previous editions of this book--you will see that all readers find it among their favorites. Last year when my father died, my mother told me that this had been one of his favorite books--I had not known that, and it made me sad that we had never talked about it. Get a copy for your family today!

At age 66, I was telling a child I am tutoring in a public school about this book, then decided to look it up. VOILA! A miracle! It is still available AND universally loved.
I had to have read it at age 9-10, so that's 56 years ago. Shocked to find out it was written in 1893. God bless Marshall Saunders, who is probably now in heaven with all the dogs and cats. And maybe people.

I had never heard of this book or read it as a child. I found a copy of the 1930 hardback version in an antique shop in the midwest last summer and purchased it just because the cover illustration looked strikingly like a dog my husband and I had recently adopted from a shelter. When I read the book, I was captivated and astonished. You see, my dog (a lovely fawn-colored pit bull) was rescued after having her ears crudely chopped off and burned. She's been a member of our family for nearly two years, and is an obedient, loving companion. The story told from the perspective of the dog reinforces to me that animals are feeling, thinking creatures, put on this earth for humans to care for and give a voice to. I've since become a great advocate for the plight of the American Pit Bull Terrier, which used to be the symbol of American with its courage, loyalty, and tenacity. Unfortunately in this day and age, irresponsible and unfeeling people have tarnished their image greatly by trying to turn them into guard dogs (which they are not) and reaping profits from fighting them. Then, they are usually discarded. Children would do well to read this book to help them learn about kindness to all creatures; adults would enjoy it as well. Because of this book, the name on our dog's AKC CGC (Canine Good Citizen) certificate and UKC LP registration proudly reads, "Ostroms' Beautiful Barley." I'm looking forward to reading the sequel and happy to have found, through these reviews, where the "real" Beautiful Joe lived and is buried.

I first read this story as a Whitman abridged edition when I was about eight years old. It was hard for me to believe that some people were so cruel to animals, but I loved the book's old-fashioned narration and of the adventures of and lessons learned by Miss Laura and her family in raising Joe. The moment I learned what the word "abridged" meant, I went looking for the complete story; it took me a long time to find this Applewood Books edition that included three of the farm chapters that were missing from the supposedly complete version I later purchased, and oddly, the Applewood edition is missing the chapter about the crow that is in some other editions. (I believe this is because the Applewood volume is a reprint of the original story and the chapter about the crow was added in a revised edition.) The story is full of memorable characters, both animal--Joe, Jim the spaniel, Billy the fox-terrier, Bella the parrot--and human--Miss Laura, Ned, Willie, Jack, and Cousin Harry. If you are tender of heart, you may find many scenes heart-rending, but it reminds us too that we have much to still work on in the area of animal cruelty.

Beautiful Joe is a great book in the tradition of Black Beauty, and will educate today's readers of not only the history of animals' roles in society but also will bring to light the history of our country prior to mass automobile usage. A great book that still rings true today.